Into The Pages
by TartCat207
Summary: Two sisters. One book. One adventure to change it all. When Willow and Victoria Ostler tumble into the Wizarding World, they have a chance to change the course of history. With a mysterious evil force pursuing them and the might of the Golden Trio on their side, watch as the adventure of a lifetime unfolds.
1. A Beginning

**Hi everyone! Yes, I know, Tart updated! It's a miracle! And indeed, this** _ **is**_ **(finally) the revised version of Living the Harry Potter Dream! Yes, I changed the title. JBrocks' story is still titled 'Living the Harry Potter Dream,' however, so don't get mixed up! Yeah, that's a companion story, for all you newcomers. Oh, and also, her new chapter isn't out yet because she was being lazy and couldn't stay focused for more than two seconds to revise.**

 **Basically, I just fixed a lot of grammar mistakes, added a lot more detail and stuff, and also added a** _ **whole**_ **lot more plot. Because practically everything was super cringey.**

 **DISCLAIMER: Anything you recognise belongs to J.K. Rowling. Except, of course, if you read the previous version. Then Wil and Vi would also be familiar to you… Oh, you know what I mean!**

 **R &R, and I hope you enjoy!**

Here it is. The day it all started.

You peeps from the Wizarding World — you know who I am, right? Victoria Black-Lupin, heroine of the Wizarding World. If you _don't_ know me — well, you've been living under a rock.

It was a late Saturday night, and Wil and I were returning from a friend's birthday party, giggling as we hung up our coats.

Well, more me than her.

"That was so fun!" I said, beaming.

"You would say," said Wil, smirking and rolling her eyes. "I saw you hanging out with Jared — _alone,_ for your information — the whole time."

"Oh, shut up." I blushed, smacking her arm playfully.

We ascended the stairs and entered our bedroom, immediately collapsing on our bunk bed (her the top, me the bottom), tired from the party.

I fingered the bedcovers, still faintly smiling as I thought about the party.

And, while past-me is still thinking about her 'boyfriend' — as Wil so lovingly puts it — to fill in for those few boring minutes, I'll catch you up. Okay, so, first — me.

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Okay, so now that we've got introductions down, let me describe myself to you. I had long, curly, ebony hair that came down to my elbows and turned brown in the sunlight, chocolate brown eyes, and a generally round face. I was short for my age and slightly scrawny, which meant that people often underestimated me. _Not a good idea,_ I tell them. _Not a good idea._ I'm pretty smart, if I do say so myself, eleven years old, in sixth grade, and, of course, a huge Harry Potter nerd.

My slightly older sister, Willow, A.K.A Wil, had short, black hair that only came down to the middle of her neck, glasses, and was also a big Harry Potter fan. Just not as big as me.

(Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.)

She was also eleven years old. We were twins.

Okay, now that I've got you all caught up on that, let the adventure continue!

Suddenly, from up above my head, Wil gasped.

"Wil," I asked worriedly, looking up at the bottom of her mattress. "What's wrong?"

"Th — the — the — the book!" she stammered. Her finger appeared over the edge, pointing.

I looked in the direction of her finger.

"Oh my gosh," I breathed, my eyes widening.

Our copy of the "Philosopher's Stone" that usually sat at the table in the middle of the room at a place of honor was glowing.

Yes, glowing.

As in, radiating a bright, luminous glow.

And what was more, as we watched, letters peeled themselves off the pages, gracefully taking their places as if in a giant puzzle, leaving the book looking like someone had smeared white-out all over it.

The words read:

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler - yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

The words burst into flame and disappeared. The book landed back on the table from where it had been hovering in the air and flopped open, lifeless, leaving no sign that anything had even happened.

 **And, no, this story doesn't feature Wolfstar.**

 **Sorry for the short chapter! How was it? A lot better? A lot worse? Who do you think H is? R &R! **


	2. One Step Further

**And here's the second one! Disclaimers still stand, R &R, and, most importantly, enjoy! **

_Previously on "Into The Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria Irene Ostler, heroine of the Wizarding World…_

 _-o-o-_

 _My slightly older sister, Willow, A.K.A. Wil…_

 _-o-o-_

" _Th — the — the — the book!"_

… _the "Philosopher's Stone"...was glowing._

 _-o-o-_

… _letters peeled themselves off the pages, gracefully taking their places as if in a giant puzzle…_

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

Wil and I sat there, stunned.

" _What the_ heck _just happened_?" I exclaimed, jumping out of the bed and grabbing the book. I touched the pages tenderly.

My finger passed through them.

I screamed.

Several windows broke, some pigeons flew away, and quite a few dogs around town fainted.

"Everything okay up there?" asked Mrs. Herman, the caretaker, in a falsely sweet voice.

"Uh — um — everything's fine!" I called down once I found my voice. "I just — um — found an ant in here! Yeah, you know how I am with ants…"

"Okay," she said, her voice disbelieving. "But try not to scream so loud next time, all right, dear? You scared me half to death."

And we heard her footsteps receding down the stairs.

"You know, Vi," Wil pointed out, "It _did_ say the book was a portal."

"Oh, ha ha," I said sarcastically. "So what should we do? Do we stay, or do we leave?"

Wil thought for a moment. And then she grinned.

"I say… we go."

She put her hand out and looked at me expectantly.

I bit my lip.

"Well…fine."

I put my hand on top of hers and grinned back.

* * *

A few minutes later, we were sitting back down on our beds.

"So, what's the game plan?" I asked.

"Well… We know that this will take us to the Harry Potter universe, right?"

"Right."

"But we don't know when."

"Mm-hm."

"So, let's use logic. If it said that we have to save everyone, I'm assuming it's in a war. Except they can't just throw us into the middle of battle, so —"

"— they'll probably throw us into Harry's first year, so that we have time to learn and get the hang of stuff," I finished, nodding.

"I don't think we need anything," I added. "If we have nothing, it'll be less suspicious. We can't just be majorly rich people appearing out of nowhere, and plus, we'll be in the 90's, which means that some things won't be invented yet."

"Okay," said Wil. "Let me just do something really quick." I looked over her shoulder as she wrote a note.

 _Dear Mrs. Herman, or Mom and Dad if you get back before Mrs. Herman reads this,_

 _As you may have noticed, we've gone missing. However, I advise you not to worry. We've just received a message accepting us into a private boarding school. Its location is secret, so I can't tell you much about it here. Anyways, we'll be fine. We'll come back soon._

 _All our love,_

 _Wil and Vi._

"There," she said, putting the pen down. "At least it isn't a complete lie."

I nodded, walked over to the book, took a deep breath, and plunged my hand in.

I winced, expecting the worst, but all I felt was the weird tingly feeling you get after you've been sitting on your leg for too long. "It's good," I said. "It doesn't hurt."

I took my hand back out and placed the book on the floor.

"Wish me luck," I said, and stepped in.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a world the color of dusty pages, words floating all around me. The whole scene sparkled with imagination.

The tingly feeling had now taken over my whole body, and I shivered because of it. Then, as suddenly as I had come, I was whisked away and landed on a busy road.

BEEEEEEEP!

Horns blared all around me as I ducked, arms over my head, and ran across the road, shouting hurried "Sorry!"'s to the cars who had had to swerve around me.

' _To be fair, sir,'_ I thought as one particularly cross driver shouted a very choicy string of curses at me, ' _You have a really old-fashioned car. I think that model was new in, what, 1991?'_

' _Wait,'_ I realized as I sat down on some grass, ' _1991?'_

I looked back at the road. The cars all looked relatively similar to Mr. Cuss-Man.

' _I'm in 1991!'_

And, for the second time that day, I screamed.

A barber nearby jumped and accidentally gave a girl an ear piercing.

A cat yowled and knocked over several garbage cans.

And in another world, Mrs. Herman heard faint screaming coming from the direction of the girls' room as she vacuumed the floors. She stopped for a moment, shook her head, and continued working.

Yeah. She could hear me all the way from a busy street full of honking cars, the screams of the ear-pierced girl, a cat yowling, the clanking of garbage cans as they tipped over like dominoes, and all the way through the book portal. I scream that loud.

I turned around, aiming to get a better idea of where I was, and then stopped.

I grinned.

I heard a _thump_ in the ground behind me.

"Where are we?" asked Wil's voice.

"At the first step to saving the world."

We were standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

 **Like it? Don't like it? R &R! **


	3. The First Meeting

**And the third one! First magical interaction (you know, if you don't count the magical glowing, word-spewing book)! RR, and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into The Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

… _the "Philosopher's Stone"...was glowing._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

" _I say… we go."_

 _-o-o-_

" _Wish me luck," I said, and stepped in._

 _-o-o-_

' _I'm in 1991!'_

 _-o-o-_

" _Where are we?" asked Wil's voice._

" _At the first step to saving the world."_

 _We were standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron._

 _-o-o-_

Wil and I entered the bar in a bout of excitement, practically skipping into the doorway.

Then, five seconds into the shop, we bumped into someone.

"Excuse me," I said to the man.

"Worry not, dear friends," he said excitedly, "for I know everyone is most thrilled to see the Boy-Who-Lived!"

He smiled kindly at us, and with that, turned around again.

"The Boy-Who-Lived?" said Wil. "So that must mean-"

"Sorry - 'scuse us - must get on," boomed a voice. It sort of sounded like a pirate. "Lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."

Me and Wil glanced at each other and followed a retreating Hagrid's silhouette into the back.

"Excuse me," I called.

Hagrid turned at looked at us. He sighed.

"No more handshakes, please," he said in an annoyed tone. "Harry and I-"

"Excuse me, Mister, but you've gotten us all wrong," I said. "You see, my sister and I are Muggleborns, so we don't exactly know where to go, and you seemed to know what you were doing so we thought we might ask." Then I put on my guilty face. "But of course, we wouldn't want to be a burden…"

Hagrid's face crinkled itself into a wrinkled smile. "Of course yeh can come along." he said. People sure changed their minds quickly."Now, this here is Harry." He patted Harry on the back with so much force that he buckled onto his knees. "Oh - sorry - righ', an' I'm Hagrid, the Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts," he said proudly, puffing out his chest slightly. "And yeh are?"

"Victoria," I shook his hand. "And I'm Willow," added Wil. "But you can call us Wil and Vi for short."

"All righ', then, come along, the three of yeh."

We came closer to Hagrid as he muttered something to himself.

"Three up… two across…"

I offered a tentative smile to Harry.

He smiled back.

 **Yeah, sorry… this is kind of a filler chapter. But the next one will be a lot more exciting! I promise! And also, sorry for my bad Hagrid accent. RR!**


	4. Close Calls

**Aaaaand here's the next one! R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into The Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _I'm in 1991!'_

 _-o-o-_

 _We were standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron._

 _-o-o-_

 _Hagrid's face crinkled itself into a wrinkled smile. "Of course yeh can come along."_

 _-o-o-_

We wandered the winding cobbled path in awe, staring at the various magical shops that surrounded us.

"Firs', let's get yer money." said Hagrid. "Victoria, Willow —"

"Vi and Wil," I interrupted. "Please."

"Righ', Vi an' Wil — don' worry about yer stuff, Gringotts has a list o' all Muggleborn firs' years. Dumbledore makes sure all of ye have summat decent," he said, smiling. "Great man, he is."

"Gringotts?" asked Harry. "What's that?"

I glanced at Wil. She seemed to be thinking the same thing. _We aren't enrolled in Hogwarts._

"So," said a voice behind me. I jumped.

"Sorry," said Harry quickly. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just…"

"It's fine," I said. "There's no need to be nervous." I flashed him a quick smile. "I'm just Victoria. Vi. A Muggleborn. You probably know more about the Wizarding World than I ever will. So don't be nervous." I put on a jealous face.

"No, actually," he said. "I just found out about the Wizarding World yesterday."

"Really?" I said, acting surprised.

"Yeah," he said. "I really don't know anything about it at all."

We were silent for a minute.

"Anyway," I said suddenly, "seeing as you're going to be stuck with me for the whole day, I figured we should probably get to know each other a little better." I cleared my throat. "My name is Victoria Irene Ostler. But I prefer to be called Vi." I did a little curtsy. He laughed.

"I'm Harry," he said, bowing slightly. "Harry Potter."

"Isn't it supposed to go, 'Potter, Harry Potter'?"

"I suppose it is, isn't it," he said, laughing and bumping my elbow with his.

"So it is, Potter Harry Potter," I replied, laughing with him.

"Sorry to break up your little flirt-fest," said Wil, sticking her head between us and causing us both to blush, "but as you two have been sweet-talking each other, we've arrived."

And sure enough, in front of us stood a large marble structure that shone in the light. Two goblins guarded the entrance. We entered the building, coming across another set of double doors that were engraved with the words:

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there._

And through those doors was a massive hallway lined with desks and so many doors that it would probably take years for someone to be able to memorize the layout. At each desk sat another goblin, each doing a different task — Hagrid made for a free goblin.

"Mornin'," he said. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe, and get the grant fer these two." He grinned at us. "Muggleborns."

"Names, please?" asked the goblin.

"Victoria and Willow."

The goblin frowned. "Last name?"

"Er-"

"Ostler." I piped up, realizing we had never told him.

He scanned his list. "Hmm…"

"Lemme take a look," said Hagrid, frowning.

I looked over his shoulder as he scanned the list.

Suddenly, near the bottom, the words "Kevin Entwhistle" and "Justin Finch-Fletchley" parted and in between, carefully scripted in neat letters, were the names "Willow Ostler" and "Victoria Ostler".

"Ah, look there they are," said Hagrid, who had strangely not noticed the phenomenon, showing it to the goblin.

"Hm," said the goblin, frowning. "It appears they are on the list. Very well, then."

"Oh, an' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven-hundred and thirteen."

He fished around in his numerous pockets and produced a piece of parchment sealed with a shiny red Hogwarts stamp.

The goblin read it carefully.

"Very well," he said, sealing it again and handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. You two-" he pointed at me and Wil- "-here is your grant." He reached down under the counter and came up with two brown leather pouches that made a _clink_ ing sound as he passed them down to us. "Here are your letters. Griphook!"

As another goblin, Griphook, walked over, Hagrid saw Harry's jealous looks at our pouches. "Don' worry," he said, grinning. "Yeh have as much as that in yer vault, an' thensome."

Harry grinned back.

When Griphook arrived, he led us through a door and into a narrow stone passageway that was lit by dancing flames that came from the torches on the walls.

Once he had summoned the cart, we all crammed ourselves in and then off we were.

 **Okay, so maybe it wasn't as interesting as you expected, but like I said, a lot more interesting than the last chapter… I guess. Anyway, what do you think so far? Like the original better? Like this version better? Who or what do you think caused their names to appear on the list?**

 **Oh yeah, and I'm leaving for Florida on Tuesday, so we're going to be really busy tomorrow, Tuesday, and until the next week, and then Christmas, so I might not be able to update for a while. But I promise I'll try! And I know, I know, the last time I said that I didn't update for… what, three, four months? But this time I really mean it! I do! R &R! :)**


	5. Off We Go

**Here's Chapter Five! This chapter is dedicated to Huohua Duvessa, my first reviewer! I don't know if you're reading this, seeming as you've already read the whole story and this is just a revised chapter, but thank you! I'm glad you like it.**

 **Anyway, R &R, Merry Christmas, and make sure to enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _I'm in 1991!'_

 _-o-o-_

 _We were standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron._

 _-o-o-_

 _Hagrid's face crinkled itself into a wrinkled smile. "Of course yeh can come along."_

 _-o-o-_

" _Firs', let's get yer money."_

 _-o-o-_

" _Mornin'," he said. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe, and get the grant fer these two." He grinned at us. "Muggleborns."_

" _Names, please?" asked the goblin._

" _Victoria and Willow."_

 _The goblin frowned. "Last name?"_

" _Er-"_

" _Ostler." I piped up, realizing we had never told him._

 _He scanned his list. "Hmm…"_

" _Lemme take a look," said Hagrid, frowning…_

 _Suddenly, near the bottom, the words "Kevin Entwhistle" and "Justin Finch-Fletchley" parted and in between, carefully scripted in neat letters, were the names "Willow Ostler" and "Victoria Ostler"._

 _-o-o-_

 **Yes, it's a really weird previously, but whatever! I couldn't figure out anything else! Anyway, on with the story!**

About ten million twists, turns, and screams from me (I'm _not_ a roller-coaster person) later, we arrived at Harry's vault.

I think Hagrid felt more sick than me, though.

Griphook placed the key into the small hole and the door swung open, revealing mounds of coins that sparkled gold, silver, and bronze.

"All yours," grinned Hagrid. He leaned over to the side again, retching.

I grimaced and looked away.

Wil and I helped Harry pile some into a bag.

"The gold ones are Galleons," explained Hagrid. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough." He peered into the bag. I noticed his face was no longer green.

"Feeling better, Hagrid?" I asked politely.

"Well enough," he muttered. "Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh. Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only." replied the goblin.

And off we were again.

Fortunately, this ride was shorter than the last.

"Stand back," said Griphook. I couldn't see how we could though, seeming as we were sitting in the cart. Still, I scooched back in my seat.

He stroked the door with one long, pointed finger, and it seemed to melt away until it was nothingness, exposing to view the tiny package that I knew to be the Sorcerer's Stone.

Can you imagine, knowing that the way to riches and power and immortality was just a reach away. I must admit, it took great power not to grab it from Hagrid's hands right then and there.

It only goes to show how good of a person I am.

"Come on," said Hagrid, "back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep my mouth shut."

And off we were.

 **Sorry for the short chapter! I thought this was a good place to cut it off. Once again, Merry belated Christmas! R &R!**


	6. Runes, Robes, and Ice Cream, Oh My!

**And Chapter Six! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but here it is now! By the way, if you're reading the whole story through while I haven't revised all of the chapters yet, don't get confused, because right now there's a little weird timeline-split-thing where in this chapter one thing happens (no spoilers!) and in the next chapter they're buying their wands or something. So please don't get mixed up by that if you're reading this story through! Also, do you like my new cover? Made it myself. :) R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _I'm in 1991!'_

 _-o-o-_

 _Hagrid's face crinkled itself into a wrinkled smile. "Of course yeh can come along."_

 _-o-o-_

 _"Firs', let's get yer money."_

 _-o-o-_

 _...the words "Kevin Entwhistle" and "Justin Finch-Fletchley" parted and in between, carefully scripted in neat letters, were the names "Willow Ostler" and "Victoria Ostler"._

 _-o-o-_

 _...we arrived at Harry's vault._

 _-o-o-_

 _...exposing to view the tiny package that I knew to be the Sorcerer's Stone._

 _-o-o-_

We stepped out into the sunlight and I blinked from the sudden brightness, clutching my letter and the bag of money in my hands.

"Where are we going next?" I asked, squinting at Hagrid.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid. He nodded in the direction of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts."

"Not at all," I said, and so we entered Madam Malkin's alone.

"Hogwarts, dears?" asked the slightly plump witch called Madam Malkin before we had even said a word. "Got the lot here - a young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

She led us to the back of the shop.

And there, standing on a footstool, being fitted for robes, pale, pointed face, and all, was Draco Malfoy.

"Hello," he said innocently, "Hogwarts, too?"

 _Where else,_ I thought viciously, _Mahoutokoro?_

Then I checked myself.

 _Deep breaths, Vi,_ I reminded myself as an assistant witch helped me onto a stool. _Deep breaths. Remember — close your eyes and count backwards from ten._

It's a great technique to calm yourself down. You should try it next time you run into the one of the most famous antagonists of your favorite book series.

Oh wait, that'll never happen to you.

Lucky ducks.

He's as annoying as annoying can be.

Soon enough, we were done with our fitting (fortunately - if I had stood there for one more second listening to Harry and Malfoy's conversation, I would have exploded) and, clutching our bags with our robes folded neatly inside (by magic!), we met up with Hagrid, who had gotten us all ice creams.

"Wasn' sure what yeh liked," he said, "so I got all o' me favorites instead. Take yer pick."

We stopped by Tomes and Scrolls to get some quills, ink, and parchment ("Don't you dare let a _single_ _drop_ of that ice cream get on my parchment!" "Yes, _Madam Pince."_ ).

"Hagrid," asked Harry once we exited the shop, "what's Quidditch?"

"Oh, it's an amazing game," exclaimed Wil before Hagrid could say anything. "You fly on broomsticks, and there are four balls —"

I sent her a look that said, _"Shut up!"_ But it was too late.

"And — what are you all staring at?"

"Well — thanks for the explanation and everything — but how do you know all that about Quidditch?"

I mentally facepalmed. Sisters sometimes.

"Oh — er — I —" she stammered. "Oh look! What's that?" She pointed to a window that displayed a case of beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop). She pressed her face against the window. "Oh — ugh — beetle eyes," she said with less interest and more disgust. She pulled her face slightly away from the window.

"Well, we need ter get some of yer things at the Apothecary anyways," said Hagrid, saving Wil from her dastardly disastrous fate.

And so we entered.

"But what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" asked Harry.

This time Wil stayed silent (for once), allowing Hagrid a chance to explain.

"School houses," he said. "There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"

My blood began to boil.

 _Deep breaths_ , I reminded myself. _Deep breaths._

Once we had finished in there, we stopped by Flourish and Blotts.

"Whoa," I gawked.

The store was full, floor to ceiling, with massive bookcases stuffed with books of every size and shape. I grabbed one of the shelf. It was about runes. "Wow," I said, gazing at the strange symbols on the paper. I trailed my finger over them.

"Impressive, right?" I looked up and saw a beaming, bushy-haired, buck-toothed girl looking at me.

"Yeah," I said, beaming back. "I'm Victoria, by the way. Victoria Ostler. But everyone calls me Vi." I held out my hand.

"Nice to meet you," said the girl, shaking it. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." I mentally had a huge freakout. It was _Hermione!_ The _Hermione! Hermione Granger!_

Then I realized she was saying something to me.

"... Ancient Runes too?"

"Sorry?"

"Ancient Runes," she said excitedly. "Are you going to take it too? In third year? I've been in here for the past hour reading about all the courses. You are going to Hogwarts, of course?"

"Yes," I answered with a grin, "To both questions."

She grinned back, and then suddenly someone called her name.

"Well, that's me," she said apologetically. "Hope to see you on the train!" She waved goodbye and was gone.

"Vi! Vi! Victoria!"

I looked up to see my sister calling me, pushing her way through the crowd.

"What have you been doing?" she asked. "Hagrid's got all our books and he sure can't pay for them, so he sent me to find you."

"I met Hermione," I said simply.

 _"What?!"_ Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Why didn't you come find me?"

"Well I couldn't just say, 'Hey stranger I just met, let me abandon you for a second to go find my sister who wants to see you too even though you've never met her,' could I?"

"Fine," she grumbled.

"Come on, I'll let you meet Ron!"

"Deal."

And she shook before I could say a word.


	7. Shopping Spree

**And Chapter Seven! You know the drill: R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _Hagrid's face crinkled itself into a wrinkled smile. "Of course yeh can come along."_

 _-o-o-_

 _...the words "Kevin Entwhistle" and "Justin Finch-Fletchley" parted and in between, carefully scripted in neat letters, were the names "Willow Ostler" and "Victoria Ostler"._

 _-o-o-_

 _...pale, pointed face, and all, was Draco Malfoy._

 _-o-o-_

 _"I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."_

 _-o-o-_

After we bought everything at Flourish and Blotts, we then stopped by Potage's Cauldron Shop, Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, and Slug and Jiggers' Apothecary.

As we exited the last of these, Hagrid checked over Harry's list.

"Just yer wand left — Oh yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."

Harry went red.

"You don't have to -"

"I know I don't have to."

* * *

And that was how, an hour later, we found ourselves walking out of Magical Eeylops Owl Emporium with owl cages swinging from Harry and Wil's hands. I had turned down the offer.

"What I'd really like," I had said, "Is a cat."

And _that_ was how, twenty minutes later, we walked out of Magical Menagerie with a cat cage dangling from my wrist.

She was a light cream color with mocha brown spots and stripes all over her. I decided to call her Mocha.

"All righ'," said Hagrid, "Just Ollivander's left now - only place fer wands, Ollivander's, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

Ollivander's (Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.) was small and shabby. The paint was peeling, and so were the letters, not to mention the dusty window display with with the single wand.

"It looks abandoned," commented Wil. "Are you sure this is the right place? Maybe there's a - er - _newer_ looking Ollivander's around here?"

"O' course it is," said Hagrid gruffly.

And so we entered.

The interior wasn't much different. It was dark and cramped, with a tiny chair resting in the corner. Hagrid sat down in it.

Really, the only things that kept me from leaving right there and then were:

The knowledge that Ollivander would appear in like, two seconds

and

b) The stacks and stacks of rectangular boxes that filled the shop.

I had just reached out to touch one when a voice called out from the darkness.

"Tut, tut," it said. "No touching, please."

I turned around to find myself face to face with a very frail looking old man, with wispy white hair that looked a bit like pulled cotton and very pale skin and eyes.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "Mr. Ollivander?"

"Indeed," he said. "Good afternoon."

"To you as well." I said politely.

Mr. Ollivander turned around to face the rest of the group. "Ah," he said. "And all three of you will be needing your wands?"

We nodded.

"Very well, then."

He walked up to Harry.

"Ah yes," he said. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter. You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

He said this all without blinking. Rather impressive, if I do say so myself.

"Your father, on the other hand favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

And now he touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he continued. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."

He then caught sight of Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

Honestly, I don't know how he had such a good memory. Hagrid was eleven, like, more than fifty years ago!

"Good wand, that one," he said. "But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?"

"Hey," I whispered to Wil. "I just realized something."

"What is it?" she asked.

 _"We don't have magic."_

 **Yes, this is a bit of a shorter chapter, but ooooh! The suspension! What do you think will happen? Will they be found out? R &R!**


	8. Cedar, Unicorn, Eleven, and Flexible

**Chapter Eight! Only two away from the ten chapter mark! RR and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _Hagrid's face crinkled itself into a wrinkled smile. "Of course yeh can come along."_

 _-o-o-_

 _...the words "Kevin Entwhistle" and "Justin Finch-Fletchley" parted and in between, carefully scripted in neat letters, were the names "Willow Ostler" and "Victoria Ostler"._

 _-o-o-_

 _"I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."_

 _-o-o-_

 _...a cat cage dangling from my wrist._

 _I decided to call her Mocha._

 _-o-o-_

 _… "just Ollivanders left now…"_

 _-o-o-_

 _"We don't have magic."_

 _-o-o-_

Eventually (after Mr. Ollivander's lengthy explanations about parents' wands' properties, how it suited them, and multiple mentions of "The wand chooses the wizard"), we started with the wand selection.

The people selection?

"Beechwood and dragon heartstring," said Mr. Ollivander, handing a wand to Harry. "Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."

But he snatched it away just as quickly as he had given it.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy."

And after a rather large selection of wands, he finally found it.

"Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

And as he waved it around, a shower of multi-colored sparks shot out from it and landed like sparkly rain.

"Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh very good. Well, well, well, how curious…"

And then, it was my turn.

I gulped.

"Now, Miss Ostler, try this on for size. Aspen, dragon heartstring, ten inches. Solid."

I took it and waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of my hands so fast that my hand stung a bit where it had scraped past.

"No, no. How about this one? Chestnut, unicorn hair, nine inches, quite supple."

But he took this one away just as quickly.

"Ah — here we go. Cedar, unicorn tail core, exactly eleven inches. Very flexible."

I took this one, and immediately I knew this was it. A warm, tingly feeling filled me, and I waved it in a swirl, causing a shower of roses to come blossoming out of the end.

"Marvelous," said Mr. Ollivander. "Splendid. Here."

He handed my boxed wand to me.

"Thank you," I said as he vanished the roses. "But wait — may I keep one?"

"Of course," he replied, and I picked a rose off the floor.

"Next, if you please."

I joined Hagrid and Harry at the back of the room, thinking.

How had I managed to do that? I was a Muggle. I wasn't supposed to have magic.

If I had just considered, it would have saved me a lot of trouble.

But I didn't, instead brushing away the thought.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

As I zoned back in, Mr. Ollivander was saying, "...Dogwood, dragon heartstring, thirteen inches. Rather pliant."

She waved it in the air, and with a bang, a shower of confetti exploded from the wand. Wil grinned and stared at the wand in delight.

"Bravo!" cried Mr. Ollivander. "Bravo." With a flick of his wand, he Vanished the confetti.

We paid (twenty-one Galleons in all) for our wands and left the shop.

We traveled back through the Leaky Cauldron and said our goodbyes, and then Harry and Hagrid departed.

"Excuse me," said Wil, approaching the counter. "We need a place to stay, but the Hogwarts grant only covered our supplies. Any chance you could…?"

"Say no more," said Tom.

I potted my rose, and we lay down in our beds, ready for another day.


	9. The Station

**Chapter Nine, people! R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

" _I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."_

 _-o-o-_

" _We don't have magic."_

 _-o-o-_

… _we started with the wand selection._

 _-o-o-_

… _this was it._

 _-o-o-_

 _How had I managed to do that? I was a Muggle. I wasn't supposed to have magic._

 _-o-o-_

The next month passed by quickly. Wil and I spent most of our time either hanging around Flourish and Blotts or chilling at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream shop (haha... _chilling_ … haha… okay, fine. I admit that I just made a total dad joke there). Tom the bartender also let us keep a half-time job at the pub to earn money.

From the many books I read, I gathered that there was no record of what happened to us ever happening before. A Muggle, suddenly gaining magical abilities? It was unheard of. Someone must have really wanted us to come here… Someone _powerful_ …

"Oh, Mo," I sighed, stroking her as I put down my book, ' _The Most Mysteriously Mystical Magical Mysteries for the Magically Magical.'_ "Somebody really needed us… I just wish I knew _who_."

But the most important question, the most confusing, was _why us?_

On the morning of September the first, I woke up as groggy as ever, but jumped right up when I remembered what day it was. "Wiiiiiiil!" I sang as I brushed out all the knots in my hair. "Guess what day it is?"

"King's Cross!" she said, stepping into the bathroom. "After all, you've only mentioned it, what, a hundred times now?"

We arrived there (via Knight Bus — shudder) at half past ten, bouncing up and down excitedly.

Well, more or less. I don't think you can bounce very well when you're about a second away from puking.

"Okay," said Wil once we had found a bench. "Quick check."

"You are _so_ unbelievably paranoid."

"Shut up. Wands?"

"Check."

"Luggage?"

"Check."

"Pets?"

"Check."

"Tickets?"

"Check."

"Faces?"

"Check, but I wish yours wasn't."

She stuck her tongue out at me as we traveled (faces and all) to the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

I looked around. "I wonder if—"

"Wil! Vi!"

We looked over to see an anxious Harry jogging towards us, heavy luggage in tow.

"I'm glad to see you," he said. "I've been worried. Do you happen to know how to get onto the platform?"

 _Uh-oh._

"Uh — yeah — just one second. I'm suddenly feeling incredibly thirsty, and I — uh — need to get some water. Wil, come with me?" I took her by the arm and dragged her away.

"What was that for?" she asked incredulously as I inserted a coin into the vending machine for water just for the sake of it.

"You should know very well what that was for!" I hissed back as the machine proceeded to make a series a dull clunks. "Asking how to get on the train is how Harry first meets Ron!"

"Oh, right," said Wil, a look of dawning comprehension on her face. Then she looked put out. "Wait, but didn't you say you'd let me meet Ron?"

"And you will," I said loftily as I picked up my bottled water. "Just not by yourself."

And I strode away, taking a light sip of water as I went.

 **Okay, okay, yes, this is a really short chapter, but this is a** _ **really**_ **satisfying place to leave it at, and the next one will be out soon, I promise! R &R!**


	10. Afternoon Train to Hogwarts

**Chapter Ten! Woot woot! We made it! Only four more chapters to go and then we're done revising! We can do this! By the way, tell me if you get the title reference. Hint: Georgia? R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

" _Of course yeh can come along." [Hagrid] said._

 _-o-o-_

 _Someone must have really wanted us to come here… Someone_ powerful… _But the most important question, the most confusing, was_ why us?

 _-o-o-_

 _We arrived [at King's Cross]..._

 _-o-o-_

I dawdled by a guard in King's Cross in the year 1991.

This is what my life has come to.

Earlier, Harry, Wil, and I had split off, searching for directions to platform nine and three-quarters. Of course, Wil and I already knew how to get there, but we couldn't tell Harry, otherwise he would miss his first meeting with the Weasley family. We had told him to look for help in the general direction we knew they were coming from and then took off on our own.

Hence the dawdling.

The guard was a nice person, actually, and we chatted about entirely non-magical related things.

"Have you been to the bookshop on Charing Cross?" I asked him, for I had been outside to Muggle London a couple times and the store was wonderful.

"I can't say I have," he said. "I've never been much of a reader myself."

"Well, you must," I said. "It's the most wonderful place, even if you don't like reading."

"I'll be sure to," he assured me, and then asked, "What are you doing here anyway? Are you going on vacation, or visiting family, or what?"

"I'm going to school, actually," I replied. "Boarding school. It's my first year."

"Oh, how exciting!" he said, smiling. "What school is it?"

I turned red.

"It's, um — oh, look! There's my friend," I said, spotting Wil over at the other side of the station. "I've got to go — it was nice talking to you!" I fled the scene, waving goodbye to him.

"Wil," I said as I approached her, "You have no idea how much you just saved me by appearing right now."

"Um… Okay?"

Just then, we caught sight of Harry, who was waving us over.

"Wil! Vi!" he yelled over the chatter of the crowd. "I found help!"

We came over and then there stood the Weasley family. Their hair was much more flamingly red than I had imagined. Percy, Fred, and George had already gone, so only Molly, Ginny, and Ron were left.

"Hello, dears," said Mrs. Weasley warmly, smiling at us. "I heard you had some trouble getting onto the platform. Not to worry, it's Ron's first time too." She pointed at him. "Now, all you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared that you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on now, before Ron."

"Er — okay," said Harry, wheeling his cart around.

He started out with a slow walk, never looking away from the barrier; then he started to walk quicker, the crowd bumping into him at every turn; finally, he broke into a run, squeezing his eyes shut — and then he was gone.

Ron started to follow him, but his mother held him back. "Ron," she scolded him, "Haven't you heard of 'ladies first'?" Ginny giggled behind her hand. "Go on, dears," said Mrs. Weasley.

I took hold of my cart, spun around to face the wall, and took a deep breath.

In case you were wondering, it looked very, very, extremely solid.

I jogged toward it at first, but as I gained momentum it turned into a heavy run — it was a foot away — I closed my eyes and braced myself — but no collision came.

I opened my eyes and looked around. There it was, as plain as can be — a sign declaring platform nine and three-quarters.

I could almost _feel_ the magic filling the air all around me — the sights, smells, and sounds all contributed to the glorious scene that was the platform. People caught up with friends and chatted with their families; owls flew above, screeching; cats prowled the station, rubbing against people's legs.

I slowly rolled my cart forwards, trying to take in everything.

"Vi!"

I was suddenly assaulted with a mess of bushy brown hair tackling me.

"Hermione?"

And there she was.

"Vi! It is Vi, right? I am the worst at names —"

"Yeah, it's Vi," I said, grinning at her. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Me too!" she exclaimed. "It's all just so confusing, and wonderful — magic, I mean. You won't believe how wonderful it is to see a familiar face! Are you here with anyone? I'm with my parents — and goodness, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Just a bit." I laughed. "I'm here with my sister, Willow, and my friend, Harry."

"That sounds wonderful," she said, beaming. "I wish I had a sister — or a brother, for that matter. I'm an only child."

"Trust me. You do _not_ want one."

She laughed.

"If you say so. Come on, let's grab a compartment before the train fills up! Your friends won't mind, will they?" she asked worriedly.

"Nope," I replied, popping the 'p'. "Let's go!"

We took our luggage and boarded the train, searching for an empty compartment. Hermione took sight of Mocha.

"Oh, is that your cat?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Yup," I said, beaming down at her fondly. "Mocha. Or Mo, everyone calls her that. And by everyone, I mean me, since I'm practically the only one to have had to address her yet."

"Aw, hi, Mo!" she said.

Mocha purred.

"She's so pretty," said Hermione in adoration.

"She really is."

We found an empty compartment close to the back of the train. We helped each other load in our baggage and sat down.

"So, what House do you want to be in?" I asked.

"Hmm… I'd like Gryffindor the most, I guess. I've heard that it was Dumbledore's House! But I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, either. What about you?"

"I want Hufflepuff. In my opinion, they're much too undervalued. But Gryffindor wouldn't be bad."

After a bit of chatting, Harry came along with Wil in tow.

"Hello," he said, "Is it okay if we sit here?"

"Well, _I_ don't need permission," said Wil, dragging in her luggage and flopping down on her seat without putting it away. I gave Hermione a look that said, _That's sisters for you._

"Hey, I saw that!" she exclaimed.

The train started to rumble, moving slowly down the track. Hermione peeked out the window to say bye to her parents.

A few minutes after we all settled, in came Ron.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at an empty seat. "Everywhere else is full."

We shook our heads, and he sat down.

"Hey Ron — um, was that your name?" asked Wil.

 _Smooth._

"Yeah," he said. "Ron Weasley."

"Hi," said Wil. "I'm Wil, short for Willow. And that's Harry, Hermione, and Vi."

"Short for Victoria," I clarified.

The compartment door slid open, and there stood Fred and George Weasley.

"Hey, Ron." said one. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," murmured Ron.

"Oh," said the other. "Did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley."

"I'm Fred."

"And I'm George."

"Wait, wasn't _I_ Fred?"

"Were you?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "See you later, then."

"Bye," we all chorused. They left as quickly as they had come.

After they were gone, we dropped into silence.

"So," I said awkwardly, "I propose a game of Never Have I Ever — just to break the ice."

Everyone murmured their agreement.

"All right," I said. "Who should start?"

"I will!" Wil volunteered. "Never have I ever… had a brother." She grinned devilishly at Ron.

"You're evil," he said, shaking his head. "Nine."

Going clockwise, it was Ron's turn.

"Why do I have to have a sister?" he wailed, and we all laughed. Then he perked up and grinned. "Okay, never have I ever been the oldest sibling."

Wil stuck her tongue out at him and said, "Fine. Nine."

"Fine, nine, that's a great rhyme!" I chanted.

I learned a lot of things about everyone — that Hermione had gotten a failing grade once, for one thing.

"All right," I had said, "Never have I ever failed on schoolwork."

"Seven," said Harry.

"Eight," said Hermione.

"What?!" Wil exclaimed, eyes practically bugging out of her head. "Hermione?"

"It was just once, okay!" said Hermione, putting her hands up defensively. "It was my worst subject."

"Surprising," I said in an imitation of a man's voice. "But you know what's not surprising? How Geico can save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance!"

Wil cracked up while everyone else looked on in confusion.

"Must not be a 90's thing," I muttered.

I also learned that Ron had once said a swear word when he was five ("It was Fred and George's fault!") and that Harry had never tried chocolate and vanilla swirled ice-cream ("Are you even human? Who am I talking to?")

Ron and Hermione also learned that Harry was — well, Harry.

" _You're_ Harry Potter?" gasped Ron.

"I've read all about you," said Hermione, her eyes shining. "You're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_."

"Am I?" asked Harry, looking a little bewildered.

I kneeled down, raised my arms, and said, "Harry Potter! Praise his name! Hallelujah!"

Everyone laughed.

Ron also introduced his pet rat.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." He turned a little pink.

It took all of my self-restraint to not throw him out the window.

Soon, the trolley witch came by.

"Anything off the cart, dears?" she asked kindly.

With a bit of pocket money I had collected from doing shifts at the Leaky Cauldron, I bought a few Pumpkin Pasties.

Harry, on the other hand, got a bit of everything. We all dared each other to taste the different flavors of the Every Flavor Beans. I got vomit, dirt, rotten egg, sausage, and cotton candy.

Our compartment door slid open again.

"Sorry," said a round-faced boy, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

We shook our heads.

"I've lost him!" he moaned. "He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," assured Harry.

"Yes," said the boy, most likely Neville. "Well, if you see him…"

Hermione stared after him.

"I'm going to help him look," she decided. "I'll be back in a bit. Oh, and I'm going to change into my robes, you should too. I expect we'll be there soon."

She exited the compartment.

"I don't know why he was so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk. He might've died and you wouldn't know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" He pulled his wand out from his trunk. "Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyways…" He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Nothing happened.

"Sorry, Ron," I said, snickering, "but spells aren't usually more than two words."

He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

We changed into our robes and chatted a bit more, and then our compartment door slid open again.

"I'm back!" said Hermione, collapsing into a seat. "We couldn't find him, so I got a prefect to do a Summoning Charm instead."

"Smart," I commented, and then the door opened again.

Malfoy.

"Is it true?" he asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," said Harry, but he wasn't looking at Malfoy. His gaze drifted to the people standing on either side of him, like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," he said. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

"And my name's Bond. James Bond," said Wil seriously.

Hermione and I cracked up.

"That isn't a Pure-blood name, is it?" asked Malfoy. "You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort, like these Mudbloods and — one of those awful Weasleys, isn't it? I can help you there." He held a hand out to Harry. He didn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.

Malfoy almost blushed. _Almost._

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Harry and Ron stood up.

"Say that again," said Ron dangerously, his face nearly as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" sneered Malfoy.

"Unless you get out now," said Harry.

"Boys!" said Hermione, jumping up and pushing them apart. "No fighting! You're bound to get in trouble, and I won't be found guilty by association. _I_ don't want to be expelled before we even get to the school, thank you very much."

"Not now, Hermione!" yelled Harry and Ron in unison.

Looking offended, she sat back down.

"At least you tried," I said comfortingly.

They all drew their wands.

" _Fight, fight, fight,"_ chanted Wil under her breath, punching her fist into her palm. I glared at her.

She completely ignored me, however, and stood, whispering something into their ears.

They both nodded.

She sat back down, smirking.

" _What did you just do?"_ I hissed at her.

She simply shrugged and smiled.

I found out soon enough, though, when they both shouted, " _Rictusempra_!"

Under the force of their combined power, Malfoy doubled over in laughter. Crabbe and Goyle took one look at him and ran the other way, their heavy footsteps making a dull thump that could be heard all throughout the corridor.

Malfoy glared at them, at least as best as he could while laughing. He stumbled out of the compartment, clutching his stomach. "My — father — will hear about this," he managed to choke out before taking after Crabbe and Goyle.

" _Duuuuuuude,"_ said Wil, laughing so hard she fell out of her chair. From the floor, she exclaimed, "That was totally _wicked!_ "

"Hey, where'd your tye-dye peace shirt go?" I teased.

"Never owned one," she said proudly.

"Tubular," I said.

"Who's James Bond?" asked Ron once everyone was back in their seats.

"He's, like, this totally awesome spy dude guy," said Wil.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's a fictional British Secret Service agent."

"Same thing." Wil shrugged.

"Anyways," said Hermione, as we listened to the loud cackles resonating down the hall, "what was that name Malfoy called us?"

"Mudbloods?" I asked.

"Don't say it!" hissed Ron.

"Why?" asked Harry. "What does it even mean?"

"It means 'dirty blood'. It's a really foul name for Muggle-borns. "

The group fell into a heavy silence.

I twirled a strand of hair around my finger and leaned against the window, looking out at the rolling hills as the sky became steadily darker. Finally, we heard a voice: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

We all filed out of the compartment, nervously glancing at each other. I grabbed a leftover Pumpkin Pasty from a chair and nibbled it anxiously as we left the train.

We stepped out onto a small platform, the only source of light coming from a lantern that swung above. A giant arm was connected to it, and to that —

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, everyone?" Hagrid beamed at our group, huddled together.

"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Stumbling forwards, we followed Hagrid down the path in near dead silence. I shivered, wishing the robes were a bit heavier.

"Yeh'll get yer first sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," said Hagrid, "jus' round this bend here."

The group let out a collective "Oooooh" as Hogwarts came into view.

"No more'n four to a boat!" he said, pointing to a line of boats perched obediently on the edge of the Black Lake. I was followed into a boat by Hermione, Hannah Abbott, and Lavender Brown. Wil, Harry, Ron, and Neville piled into another boat.

"Everyone in?" asked Hagrid, who was in a boat by himself. "Right then — forward!"

On cue, the tiny boats launched themselves off into the lake, which looked as smooth as glass. Nobody talked, just like on the way there. _It's a bit strange, really,_ I thought, finishing my pasty and throwing the wrapper into the water, where it was dragged down by a long tentacle. _I would've thought everyone would have been talking to each other._

A great shadow was cast over us as we neared the cliff on which Hogwarts was perched.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled as we reached the cliff. We ducked and the boats sailed us through a curtain of ivy concealing the opening in the cliff's face.

We sailed into a dark tunnel, the walls making it seem endless and confining at the same time. I hugged myself a little tighter.

Finally, we reached a pebbly shore and hopped off the boats.

"Oy, you there!" shouted Hagrid to Neville's retreating back. "Is this your toad?"

"He's lost it again?" I whispered to Hermione incredulously as we ascended a set of stone stairs, where a gigantic pair of oak doors was waiting for us.

"Everyone here?" asked Hagrid. "You there, still got yer toad?"

He raised a fist and knocked on the doors three times, the echo seeming to sound throughout the castle.

 **Welp, that was a long chapter! Over 3,000 words! My sister challenged me to write a 2,000 word chapter — and I might've gone a bit overboard? Anyway, congrats if you stayed for this long, and R &R!**


	11. Sorted

**Hello, everyone! And here's the next chapter! As always, R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _"Of course yeh can come along." [Hagrid] said._

 _-o-o-_

 _Someone must have really wanted us to come here… Someone powerful… But the most important question, the most confusing, was why us?_

 _-o-o-_

 _We arrived [at King's Cross]..._

 _-o-o-_

 _...a sign declaring platform nine and three-quarters._

 _-o-o-_

 _"Vi!"_

 _... a mess of bushy brown hair tackling me._

 _"Hermione?"_

 _-o-o-_

 _...Harry came along with Wil in tow._

 _-o-o-_

 _...in came Ron._

 _-o-o-_

 _We stepped out onto a small platform…_

 _-o-o-_

 _...the tiny boats launched themselves off into the lake…_

 _-o-o-_

 _...we reached a pebbly shore…_

 _-o-o-_

 _[Hagrid] raised a fist and knocked on the doors three times…_

 _-o-o-_

The gigantic doors opened at once, revealing Professor McGonagall, who was dressed in emerald-green robes.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid," she said, "I will take them from here."

She pulled the door open wider and the light flooded onto our awestruck faces. Torches provided relief from the bitter cold of the outside world. There was not a ceiling in sight, and staircases stretched so high I feared that one might fall and be splattered like a pancake.

As we followed her across the floor, the incessant chatter of a hundred voices came wafting in our direction from the right, indicating that most of the school must already be here. The Professor led us into a small, bare chamber. We all filed in and huddled together.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly…"

I let my thoughts wander. After all, I already knew all this stuff. I'd pay attention when classes came.

After she concluded her speech, the chatter started. I straightened my robes, smoothed out the wrinkles, brushed off the crumbs, and ran my hands through my hair, twirling a piece around my fingers again.

Then I heard a loud shriek, followed by several more shouts and gasps.

The ghosts had arrived.

Not seeming to notice us, they drifted slowly to the other wall, not glancing down. Most people were either too scared or awestruck to say anything.

The ghosts appeared to be arguing.

A ghost who had to be the Fat Friar said, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" asked someone wearing a ruff and tights who I guessed to be Nearly Headless Nick. "He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"

He had suddenly glanced down and caught sight of us staring at them.

"New students!" exclaimed the Fat Friar, smiling down at us. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded silently.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar in a lame attempt to start up conversation, in my opinion. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now." Professor McGonagall had re-appeared. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

The ghosts exited via Other-Wall.

A most excellent form of transportation, if you ask me.

"Now, form a line, and follow me," Professor McGonagall instructed.

We made a relative line and filed out of the room, back across the hall, and into the Great Hall.

Instantly, I felt all eyes latch onto us. I searched around for some familiar faces — though, of course, I knew none, with the slight stretch of Fred and George at the Gryffindor table.

Professor McGonagall arranged us so that we were forced to look back at them, hundreds of candle-lit faces reflecting off of the shining silverware. Our backs were to the teachers, but I could feel all of their eyes on us, almost in greater magnitude than the students.

The Professor placed a four-legged stool in front of us and on top of it the Sorting Hat.

It was very shabby — it had multiple tears and several patches, and looked like if it were to be placed in the wind it would easily unravel in a matter of seconds.

Suddenly, it twitched, and then burst into song:

 _"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _If you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folk use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on!_

 _Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The hall burst into applause at the end of the song.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward. "When I call your name," she said, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She unfurled the parchment. "Abbott, Hannah!" One of the girls who had been on the boat with us stepped up and put on the hat. After a moment —

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the right cheered for her as she walked over.

The next person, (Bones, Susan) was a Hufflepuff, and the third person, Terry Boot, was the first Ravenclaw.

Lavender Brown was the first Gryffindor — the table hollered and cheered for her as she sat down. The twins were catcalling.

Hermione was soon called up to be sorted — I hoped and prayed that we hadn't changed the timeline so drastically so as for her to be put in another House.

Sure enough, after a tense minute, the hat called, "GRYFFINDOR!" and she skipped happily to her seat.

Before I knew it, here came the call of —

"Ostler, Victoria!"

Of course, as nervous as I was, I didn't even stop to think about how our names had gotten on the list. How could they have? If I had just asked that question earlier…

I walked nervously up to the stool, picked up the hat, sat down, and pulled it on.

Through the patches and frays, I could still see a faint picture of all the students staring at me, but other than that I was in complete darkness. I closed my eyes and imagined I was in a field of unicorns before I remembered that the Sorting Hat could probably see my thoughts.

"Hmm…" said a small, slightly raspy voice into my ear. "Interesting… Interesting… Courage is limited —" I winced "— but there is a great willingness to protect at any costs. An admirable trait for certain. Trusting blindly — take caution with that, my dear. Oh, now, brains are definitely plentiful, no doubt about that — goals aimed high, why not — and a fiery temper to boot! Interesting…" He pondered for a moment before saying, "I think you'll do well in HUFFLEPUFF!"

He shouted this last word out to the hall. I took the hat off and bounced all the way to my seat.

Blinded by happiness, I didn't pay much attention to the Sorting after that. I knew that Wil was put in Ravenclaw, that was for certain.

After McGonagall put away the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore rose to his feet.

"Welcome," he said, beaming at us all happily with his arms spread wide. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

I sniggered into my empty plate.

"Thank you!" Dumbledore concluded, sitting back down to a loud round of cheers and applause.

I looked down.

The plates in front of me had suddenly filled with food. I said a silent thank you to the House-elves downstairs before eagerly piling my plate with some of everything.

As I reached for my third serving of roast chicken, the Fat Friar popped his head up into the dish. I gave a small shriek and leapt backwards.

He laughed merrily.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, dear," he said with a grin. "The Fat Friar, at your service."

"Is that your real name?" I asked curiously.

"Of course not," he said. "But that information's classified." He winked. His head retracted from the table.

Just as I reached for the chicken again, everything disappeared from the plates, replaced by dessert — ice cream, pies, treacle tart, chocolate eclairs, doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, and rice pudding. I loaded my plate with the ice cream, eclairs, and a few doughnuts.

Eventually, the first years, who had been sitting in complete silence for most of the meal, began to talk.

"So," said one boy, Ernie Macmillan, to no one in particular, "what classes are you most excited for? I'm personally looking forward to Charms. It'll come in most useful when we're out in the real world."

"No, Defence Against the Dark Arts will," argued Susan Bones. "That's the class _I'm_ looking forward to."

"I like the sound of Herbology," said Hannah Abbott.

"I'm Muggleborn, so I can't really say much, but Potions sounds interesting," said Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"Ugh, you don't want that class." I shuddered. "It's taught by Professor Snape, and he's supposedly the worst teacher you can get. I like Transfiguration, personally, but Astronomy sounds nice too."

After a hearty meal, the food disappeared from the plates again and Dumbledore stood up.

"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

I saw his eyes flicker briefly to the Gryffindor table.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Some feeble laughter rang through the hall.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" He flicked his wand and golden string came out the end, twisting itself into words.

 _Great,_ I thought. _Karaoke night with Dumbledore._

And the school bellowed:

 _"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,_

 _Teach us something please,_

 _Whether we be old and bald_

 _Or young with scabby knees,_

 _Our heads could do with filling_

 _With some interesting stuff,_

 _For now they're bare and full of air,_

 _Dead flies and bits of fluff,_

 _So teach us things worth knowing,_

 _Bring back what we've forgot,_

 _Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_

 _And learn until our brains all rot."_

"Ah, music," said Dumbledore. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Us first years followed the prefects down into a basement corridor. Passing a large painting of a bowl of fruit, we arrived at a small recess filled with a neat pile of barrels.

"All right, pay attention now, this is important," one of the prefects called over our heads. "Can everyone see?"

We nodded mutely.

"Perfect." He took out his wand. "Now, listen closely. Find the barrel two from the bottom and in the middle of the second row —" he pointed it out "— and tap it in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'. Like this." He tapped it a few times with his wand and the barrel sprang open. "But be careful. If you do it any other way —" he tapped the barrel in a random order "— then this will happen." He leapt to the side just as a gallon of vinegar emptied onto the place where he had been standing just a second before. "Anyway," he said, vanishing the mess, "let's continue the tour."

He tapped the barrel again, this time in the correct rhythm, and ushered us into the hole.

Instead of a storage, the barrel held an opening to an earthy passageway. It began to slope upwards slightly, and before we knew it, we were standing in the Hufflepuff common room.

It was colored mostly a cheerful yellow and black, with honey-colored wooden tables and doors giving it an especially cozy look. Round shelves carved to fit the walls held many varieties of potted plants, some waving at the newcomers and some hanging from the ceiling, brushing your head as you passed under them. A roaring fireplace stood at the front of the room, and a portrait of Helga herself was placed above the mantelpiece, adorned with carvings of dancing badgers. Small round windows that seemed to be placed at the foot of the castle allowed moonlight to filter into the room, with silver tinted grass and flowers providing a lovely view.

A few older students were still seated at the wooden tables, smiling and waving to us as we passed by.

The prefects led us to a set of doors and directed us into the proper ones, boys going to the left and girls to the right. These led to a small corridor, where different doors were labeled "First Years", "Second Years", "Third Years", and so on. Hannah, Susan and I entered the first year dormitory and found a room furnished with wooden bedsteads and plushy mattresses covered in patchwork quilts. Our trunks had already arrived.

"Wow," Hannah sighed, flopping down on her bed. "I can't believe we're actually here."

"I know," I said, unlocking Mocha's cage. "Hey, are any of you allergic to cats?"

"No," said Susan, her eyes wide. "I love cats! Is that yours? What's her name?"

"Mocha," I said, showing her to Susan. "But everyone calls her Mo. Say hi, Mo." I lifted her paw in a greeting.

"She's adorable," agreed Hannah. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure thing!" I said, handing Mo to her.

"Aw, I'm already in love," she cooed. She nuzzled her face against Mocha's fur. We laughed.

After unpacking all our things, we lay down and fell into a sound sleep.

 **Whew! Another long chapter! So, they're off to Hogwarts! It's so exciting! By the way, I only put down Hufflepuff students I knew existed, so... R &R!**


	12. The First Day

**And the twelfth chapter! Two away from the revised finish line! Though, I realize that this chapter goes past what I wrote in the fourteen-chapter span, so this is entirely new content, just in fewer chapters… Does that make sense? It probably doesn't, but oh well! R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _We arrived [at King's Cross]..._

 _-o-o-_

 _...Hogwarts came into view._

 _-o-o-_

" _...HUFFLEPUFF!" [said the Sorting Hat.]_

 _-o-o-_

The next day, Hannah, Susan, and I got lost ten times on the way to breakfast.

"Where is the stupid Great Hall?" moaned Susan. "Everything'll be gone by the time we get there!"

We passed by Fred and George.

"Hey, do you happen to have a map of the castle we can borrow?" I asked casually. "We're a bit lost."

They glanced at each other.

"Where are you heading?" asked one twin slowly.

"The Great Hall," said Hannah. "Is breakfast already done?"

"Nope," the other said, "but close to it. It's downstairs on your right."

"Thank you," said Susan, relieved. "You have no idea how much you just saved my life right now."

 _Nice save,_ I thought as we headed down the stairs.

The twins were right — almost everyone had gone and only a few items were left. We each grabbed a bagel and made to sit down.

"Wait," I said, pointing. "Look."

Three pieces of paper were left on the table. I took a quick peek at them.

"They're our schedules," said Hannah. "We must have missed when they were passed out."

I picked one up and looked it over. It looked a bit like this:

 _Monday:_

 _Charms_

 _Herbology_

 _Transfiguration_

 _Potions_

 _Tuesday:_

 _Defence Against the Dark Arts_

 _Flying_

 _Charms_

 _Transfiguration_

 _Wednesday:_

 _History of Magic_

 _Herbology_

 _Potions_

 _Astronomy_

 _Thursday:_

 _Transfiguration_

 _Defence Against the Dark Arts_

 _Charms_

 _Herbology_

 _Friday:_

 _Potions_

 _History of Magic_

 _Transfiguration_

 _Charms_

"Oh, look, our names are already there!" said Hannah, pointing to a large line at the head of the paper that read:

 _Victoria Ostler, First Year._

I looked at Hannah and Susan's schedules. Their names were on theirs.

Then the bell rang.

"That's Charms," said Susan, looking down at her new schedule as she nibbled her bread.

This time we asked someone for directions, and they gladly pointed us in the direction of the Charms classroom. We arrived just in time and slid into the last empty seats just before Professor Flitwick entered the classroom.

"Welcome to Charms," he said. "My name is Professor Flitwick. In this class you will learn a wide variety of charms, and how to use them. I do _not_ want these charms to be used on another individual in this classroom unless approved by me. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," we chanted.

"Good. Now, I'll take the roll call."

After attendance, Professor Flitwick instructed us to take out our wands and partner up.

Hannah, Susan, and I looked at each other.

"You two can partner up," I said. "I'm sure I can find someone else."

"Are you sure?" asked Hannah worriedly. "You can partner up with Susan if you like —"

"I'm sure," I assured her. I looked around in search of someone else. I then stood up and walked over to Ernie Macmillan.

"Ernie, do you happen to have a partner yet?" I asked.

"Nope," he said, patting the empty chair beside him. "Come sit."

After everyone found a partner, Professor Flitwick said, "All right. Today we're going to be learning the Wand-Lighting Charm. I'm sure you'll find yourself using it often in later years, so this will be a good charm to start with. Now, repeat after me: _Lumos."_

"Lumos," we repeated.

"Good. Now, raise your wands, and move it in a motion like this." He waved his wand in a sort of loop-de-loop motion. We copied him.

"Perfect. Practice this with your partner. You may begin!"

Immediately, loud chatter began to fill the room.

"Okay," said Ernie. "I'll go first. _Lumos_!"

A small light flickered on the end of his wand and then died out.

"Almost," I said, "But I think the wand motion was slightly off. Here, like this." I raised my wand and said, " _Lumos_!"

A light appeared on the tip of my wand for a moment before disappearing again, but I was pretty proud of myself.

"Nice," he commented.

"Thanks," I grinned.

We spent the rest of the class practicing. Ernie was able to do it once, and I twice.

"Good work, everyone," said Professor Flitwick over the bell. "Pack up your things!"

And we took off.

"What's next?" I asked Susan, who already had her schedule out.

"Herbology," she replied.

We went out the first route that we saw lead outside, and finding the greenhouses was simple from there.

"Hi, Harry," I said, spotting him as we all filed into the greenhouse. "How have classes been?"

"A bit overwhelming, to be honest," he said. "But amazing, really amazing."

He went into the greenhouse with all the other Gryffindors.

Hannah and Susan were staring at me oddly.

"What is it?" I asked them. "Do I still have bagel on my face?"

"You know Harry Potter?" asked Hannah incredulously. " _The_ Harry Potter?"

"Yeah," I shrugged. "My sister and I went shopping with him in Diagon Alley. We also rode the train with him."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" asked Susan, looking at me as if I had committed a serious crime.

"I dunno," I shrugged again. "It just didn't seem that important."

"Welcome, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors," said Professor Sprout once we had settled ourselves in. "I am Professor Sprout, your Herbology teacher. In Herbology, you will learn about magical plants, their properties, and how to care for them. Now, today, we will be learning about the Spiky Bush plant. Take out your textbooks and pair up, now. Groups of three." She clapped her hands.

"Spiky Bush," I muttered to Hannah and Susan. "What a creative name."

I quickly paired up with them and we were given a jar of fire (not unlike the ones Hermione was so adept at making) to attempt to pour on the Spiky Bush that Professor Sprout had set at the front of the greenhouse.

"The first team to do this," Professor Sprout had said, "will be awarded _this_."

She held up a large block of chocolate.

"We are _so_ getting that," hissed Susan. "We have to!"

However, this was no easy feat, as the yellow thorns that adorned the Spiky Bush attacked whoever got close it.

"We'll have to get as close as we can and try to throw it on it from a distance," said Hannah.

"Someone will have to test the waters," I commented.

We all looked at each other.

"Nosies!"

Hannah and Susan crouched down in unison, fingers on their noses, but I was a second too late.

"Noooooooo!" I wailed dramatically, wilting to the floor.

"Come on, Vi," said Hannah, pulling me up.

"Yeah, go on," said Susan, pushing me forwards. I stumbled, sticking my tongue out at them. Before advancing toward the plant, I walked over to a berried plant and quickly looked it up in my textbook to see if it was safe before picking a berry and squishing it, the juice squirting all over my fingers. Then I went back and approached the plant cautiously.

Before long, the plant's yellow thorns whipped at me and crouched I down, planting my hands on the ground. I felt the thorns rush over my head.

 _Too close,_ I thought.

Then, before it could strike me again, I ran back to where Hannah and Susan were waiting.

"Okay," I said. "See that purple spot?" I pointed, and indeed, there was a spot of bright violet moisture on the ground. "That's the juice from that berry. As long don't go past those markings, we're safe."

"Hm," said Hannah, an impressed expression on her face. "Smart."

"Thanks. Now, let's get over there and win that chocolate!"

We all cheered.

"Okay," I said as we approached the juice stain. "Who here has the best throwing arm?"

"Me, probably," volunteered Susan. "I play Quidditch all the time with my cousins, and I always play Chaser."

Hannah and I nodded our consent.

"So, I just throw it?" she asked.

"Yup," I confirmed. "Then, if it shatters, the flames will be released."

After getting as close to the markings as possible, Susan prepared to throw the jar.

"You got this, Susan!" said Hannah encouragingly.

"Go, Susan!" I cheered.

She wheeled her arm back, and then —

 _SMASH!_

Our jar shattered on the Spiky Bush, and it seemed to shrivel under the flames until it was burned away, and the block of chocolate was revealed to be under it.

Professor Sprout, who had been watching the whole thing, retrieved it, walked over to us, and said, "Congratulations, girls. Five points each to Hufflepuff." She handed the chocolate to our beaming faces. The class clapped politely.

Spurred on by this victory, we exited the class in a fit of bounciness.

Transfiguration was next — although I wasn't able to Transfigure my match into a needle, Professor McGonagall said I came close. Potions was lousy, Professor Snape being the bully that he was, but that was to be expected.

All in all, it had been a great first day.

 **Okay, just wanted to say, the schedules were made up by me, so if there are any definite Hufflepuff class times that were mentioned in the books, I'm sorry. Also, all magical information you see (ever) is sourced from Harry Potter Wiki if not in the books. So, what do you think about this chapter? Thoughts? R &R!**


	13. Tea Time

**The thirteenth chapter! So close to the fourteenth! R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _...Hogwarts came into view._

 _-o-o-_

" _...HUFFLEPUFF!" [said the Sorting Hat.]_

 _-o-o-_

 _All in all, it had been a great first day._

 _-o-o-_

The rest of the week went by wonderfully. We had flying lessons with the Ravenclaws on Tuesday, though admittedly I wasn't the best at it. I've always had a fear of heights, even though I've always dreamed of flying. On Wednesday at midnight we had our first Astronomy class, which was almost as interesting as History of Magic was boring. We found the moon on our telescopes and charted its craters.

Friday morning at breakfast, an owl swooped down during mail and dropped a letter into the butter bowl.

"It's addressed to you, Vi," said Susan, reaching out and handing it to me. I tore it open. It said:

 _Dear Vi,_

 _I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to have a cup of tea with me around three?_

 _I want to hear all about your first week. Wil and Harry will be there, too. Send us an answer back with the owl._

 _Hagrid_

I took a quill out of my bag and wrote " _I'll be there"_ on the back before sending it off.

After the bell, we set off towards our third Potions lesson with the Ravenclaws.

That class, we attempted to make a Herbicide Potion, a potion that kills plants.

Rather like Professor Snape killed moods, I must say.

The potion was classified as 'advanced' in _Magical Drafts and Potions_ , but of course, it would be perfectly fitting for our third lesson.

"It's advanced for four year olds," Snape had sneered.

After bottling my not-quite-green potion, the bell rung again and we left for History of Magic, where Professor Binns lectured us about the Soap Blizzard of 1378.

After that, we were finally free to go.

As the time neared three o'clock, I left the castle to visit Hagrid on the grounds.

I met Wil on the grounds.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey!" I said, much more enthusiastically. "How have you been doing with classes? That Herbicide Potion was really… something, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," she agreed. She imitated Snape's greasy voice. "The school expects each and every one of you to know this by the end of the year. I want nothing less than perfection. Not unlike my luscious locks." She flipped her own. I snorted. "But I did pretty well; my potion was the perfect color!" she added. "Potions is actually really fun."

Just then, Harry and Ron appeared.

"Hi," said Harry. "You're going to Hagrid's too, right? I brought Ron with me."

"Yup," I replied. "It feels like we haven't seen him in forever!"

We arrived at Hagrid's. Harry knocked.

We heard some strange noises coming from inside, some barking, Hagrid yelling, and then the door opened a crack and Hagrid's face peeked out.

"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."

He opened the door wider, allowing us to step inside.

Now I saw the cause of all the struggling — it was Fang, an enormous black boarhound whose collar Hagrid was struggling to keep a hold of.

The hut was comprised of one room — this was furnished with a gigantic bed covered in an equally large patchwork quilt in the corner, a massive table in the other, and an open fire where a kettle sat to boil. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid. He let go of Fang, who immediately bounded over and started licking Ron's ears.

"This is Ron," said Harry.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles as he looked up from preparing tea and rock cakes. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."

I kept well away from the rock cakes, saying I had already had my fill at breakfast, as we told Hagrid all about our first week.

I recounted the tale of our win at Herbology class.

"Hey, I remember that!" exclaimed Ron. "I still don't know how you managed to do that."

"Well, I am a woman of mystery."

Wil told us about her newfound friendship with a Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass.

"You made friends with a Slytherin?" Ron said in disgust.

"Yep. _And_ I like Potions. So there," Wil said smugly.

He dramatically fainted.

Harry recounted the feeling that Snape hated him.

"Don' worry about it," said Hagrid, waving a giant hand. "Professor Snape usually doesn' like anybody."

Wil suddenly had a coughing fit.

"But he really seemed to hate me," Harry protested.

"Rubbish! Why should he?" exclaimed Hagrid, not quite meeting Harry's eyes. "How's yer brother Charlie?" he asked suddenly, addressing Ron. Wil chose now to recover from her fit. "I liked him a lot — great with animals."

 _Smooth,_ I thought. _Real smooth. Almost as smooth as Wil._

"Hagrid!" Harry suddenly exclaimed. He was clutching a newspaper. "That Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

Hagrid was even _smoother_ this time, if you can believe it. He grunted and offered Harry another rock cake.

After wrapping up tea, we headed back to the castle for dinner. My stomach was growling. Breakfast had definitely _not_ been enough.


	14. Forbidden

**The FOURTEENTH CHAPTER! Whoo-hoo! After this chapter, revision is officially OVER! R &R and **_**definitely**_ **enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _...Hogwarts came into view._

 _-o-o-_

" _...HUFFLEPUFF!" [said the Sorting Hat.]_

 _-o-o-_

 _...I left the castle to visit Hagrid…_

 _-o-o-_

Thursday the next week, Hermione suddenly came rushing up to me during break, which I was spending in the library.

"Vi," she said breathlessly. "Thank goodness. I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Why?" I asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Harry and Ron have gone and challenged Malfoy to a duel," she said.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry," I said, waving a hand. "I'm pretty sure he was bluffing. Malfoy, coward that he is, wouldn't do something like that. But you should go after them, just in case," I said quickly, remembering what had happened because of the 'duel'. "And maybe I'll come too."

"What's this I hear about a duel?" asked a voice behind me. I jumped.

The voice cracked up.

I turned around to see Wil laughing her head off. "But, seriously, when's this duel?" she asked, wiping away tears. "I'm there."

We all agreed to meet at the trophy room as Madam Pince kicked us from the library.

At quarter past eleven that night, I was in the common room, 'doing homework'. Checking the time, I crept into the passage and left the room, careful not to make a single sound.

I arrived at the trophy room at half-past, hiding in the shadows and waiting for everyone to appear.

Eventually, Wil came, and I peeked out of the shadows to wave hi. She disappeared into another corner.

And finally, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville appeared. They stuck to the walls and eventually reached my corner. I put my hands on Harry's shoulders and whispered, " _Boo."_

He let out a small scream and leapt backwards. Wil and I stumbled out of our corners, laughing.

"Okay, I have to give you credit for that," said Wil, wiping tears away from her eyes. "That was a _really_ good prank. If only they had crept in _my_ direction first…"

"Don't _do_ that!" Harry hissed, but a small smile curved his lips.

"Quit laughing, you two," whispered Hermione. "We're going to get caught. We're breaking about a hundred school rules right now…"

As the minutes passed by, I took to looking at the trophies. There was one addressed to "T. M. Riddle, for Special Services to the School". I glared at it before moving on.

Quite a few minutes had passed when Ron finally declared into the silence, "He's late, maybe he's chickened out."

It wasn't a moment later when we heard a noise in the next room, making us all jump.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner," said Filch's raspy voice.

Harry started making wild gestures for us to follow him. We ran out the door as quietly as possible just as Filch entered the room.

"They're in here somewhere," muttered Filch. I could almost feel his eyes boring into the walls. I amused myself for a second thinking about Filch with laser eyes.

I looked up to see Harry mouth, "This way!" And we crept down a corridor filled with suits of armor.

As we heard Filch getting closer, Neville let out a frightened squeak and began to run. He tripped over his robes, started to fall, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the two of them bowled right into a suit of armor.

Like dominoes, the others fell one by one.

 _Clang._

I winced.

 _Crash._

Wince.

 _Bang._

Wince.

 _Clangbangcrash._

Major wince.

"RUN!" Harry yelled, for it was pointless to stay quiet now. We sprinted down the gallery, not looking back once.

 _No turning back,_ I thought savagely as we hurtled through endless hallways, tapestries, and hidden passages.

We emerged in the Charms classroom.

"I think we've lost him," panted Harry, stabilizing himself against a wall.

"You better hope so, Harry Potter," I said, equally out of breath. "Or I swear to God, I will kill you."

"We've got to get to our common rooms," said Ron. "As quickly as possible."

"And that'll be an easy task," said Wil dryly. "You know, what with Filch and whoever else was on duty after us."

However, completely ignoring Wil's statement, Harry said, "Let's go."

"What?!" exclaimed Wil, following him out of the door nonetheless. "Did you hear what I just said? Let me simplify it for you: There." She pointed down the corridor. " _Danger."_

"Well, do you have another plan?" I asked her with a smile. "I'd love to hear it."

She scowled and proceeded down the corridor with the rest of us.

However, it seems luck was not on our side.

We hadn't traveled ten steps when when something shot out of a classroom next to us.

It was Peeves.

He saw us and gave a squeal of delight.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty," he chanted.

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please." begged Hermione.

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves, his eyes glittering mischievously. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," Ron snapped, swiping at Peeves.

This turned out to be a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

We ran like the wind.

We reached the end of the corridor and saw a door — but of course, it was locked.

"This is it!" Ron moaned at our feeble attempts to push open the door. "We're done for! This is the end!" Filch was getting closer.

"Oh, move over," snapped Hermione. She pulled out her wand. "Alohomora!"

The door creaked open and we all shot in like bullets.

With bated breath, we listened to Filch, who was sure to be just outside.

"Which way did they go, Peeves? Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please.'"

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please."

"All right — please."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"

As we listened to Filch's enraged swearing, I suppressed a giggle and silently thanked the heavens for Peeves' twisted sense of humor.

"He thinks the door is locked," whispered Harry. "I think we'll be okay — get off, Neville! What?"

We all turned around slowly.

And there, sitting in the forbidden corridor on the third floor, was a gigantic three-headed dog.

It's eyes were wide open, and the only reason we weren't ripped to shreds, I assumed, was because we had taken it by surprise. But clearly, it was quickly getting over it.

Harry reached behind him for the doorknob and we stumbled backwards, fleeing down the corridor.

Filch had already left — thank goodness — but that joy was heavily masked with utter terror. We didn't stop once until reaching Gryffindor Tower. It was incredibly far away from the basement, but I didn't care. As long as we were away from _Fluffy._

More like _Scary._

 _Unbelievably, indescribably scary._

"Where on earth have you all been?" asked the portrait of the Fat Lady. "And who are these two?"

"Never mind that," panted Harry. "Pig snout, pig snout."

The painting swung forward to admit us and we all stumbled in.

Nobody spoke for a while.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron said finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

"You don't use your eyes, do you?" snapped Hermione. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" asked Harry. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." She stood up, glaring at the pair of them. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

Ron stared after her, his mouth open in disbelief. "No, we don't mind. You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you."

"Oh, lay her off, Ron," I said, waving a hand. "She's the most rule-abiding person that's ever lived, and she just broke about a million rules because she was trying to protect you two."

Ron's mouth was still open. "I've never thought about it that way," he said finally.

"That's because you've never thought, box-brain," said Wil.

"That was unnecessary, Wil," I said, glaring at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, _Mom_."

" _Wil."_

"Okay, okay! I insult when I'm stressed, all right?"

We said our goodnights and Wil and I crept back to our dorms, safe and sound, for now, at least, and after the night we had, that was more than enough.


	15. Poisoned

**Okay. This is unbelievable. CHAPTER FIFTEEN! We're done revising! Like, I am having a mental party in my brain right now. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed, sticking with this story even after its 4+ months of no updating. And welcome, new readers, because this is finally going to appear in the recently updated section instead of sitting down with all the other stories updated August! Even though by the time you get here, you won't be a new reader anymore… Anyways, please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts, and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

 _...Hogwarts came into view._

 _-o-o-_

 _"...HUFFLEPUFF!" [said the Sorting Hat.]_

 _-o-o-_

 _And there... was a gigantic three-headed dog._

 _-o-o-_

The next day, I was too tired from last night's ordeal to really say anything.

"Vi," asked Hannah worriedly. "Is something wrong? You've been acting weird all morning."

"I have not," I protested as I poured chili sauce on my pancakes.

"Of course you haven't," said Susan gently, pushing my hand away and handing me a new platter.

Perhaps they were right, though, for I put the wrong ingredients in four times in Potions, which cost a solid ten points from Hufflepuff, I feel asleep twice in History of Magic, and when break arrived I immediately took off toward the common room to start the mounds of homework Professor Snape had given for my lack of attention, plus Professor Binns' homework, but I ended up falling asleep at the table.

 _I can't have been this tired,_ I remembered thinking before I drifted off.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in a white room in a soft bed, a dozen people surrounding me.

"What happened?" I said groggily, attempting to sit up but failing.

"Vi?"

Slowly, everything came into focus.

I was at the hospital wing with all my friends staring down at me worriedly — Wil, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hannah, and Susan.

"Madam Pomfrey!" shouted Susan. "She's awake!"

The nurse, Madam Pomfrey, immediately rushed over.

"Everyone, move," she instructed. "The poor dear needs some space."

She leaned in close (wowwww, Madam Pomfrey) and inspected my face. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong…" she muttered. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Fine," I answered honestly. "What happened? The last thing I remember is falling asleep in the common room…"

"Vi," said Hannah, "that was three days ago."

I sat straight up.

 _"Three days ago?!"_

The group nodded sadly.

"You were poisoned — in your sleep, I suspect, and that's just _low_." Wil growled, curling her hands into fists. "When I found out who did this," she said loudly, "I'll —"

"Don't stress her more," reprimanded Madam Pomfrey. "And don't stress the other patients here, either."

Wil snarled but otherwise said nothing.

I suddenly remembered something.

"My arm," I said. I rolled up my sleeves.

There was a tiny yet discernible little pinprick on it.

"We'll bring you to Professor Dumbledore later," said Madam Pomfrey. "He'll want to take a look at it. But for now — the poor girl needs some rest." She looked at the others. "Don't you all have some class or other to get to? Go on, now!"

One by one, they all exited the hospital wing, except for Wil, who Madam Pomfrey had to kick out for 'loud noises' and 'violence'. She came over again, gave me a potion, and left the bed.

I glanced over and saw a pile of chocolates and cards from well-wishers. I read them all, smiling and nibbling the chocolate.

However, amidst all the happy greetings, there was one card that I did not want.

 _I know your secret,_ it read. _I know, and you will pay for it._

 **Okay, this is a really short chapter, but ooooooh the suspense! The drama! Who do you think poisoned her and sent her the note? R &R!**


	16. The Day After

**And Chapter Sixteen! R &R and enjoy!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

" _...HUFFLEPUFF!" [said the Sorting Hat.]_

 _-o-o-_

 _And there... was a gigantic three-headed dog._

 _-o-o-_

" _You were poisoned…"_

 _-o-o-_

 _I know your secret, [read the note]. I know, and you will pay for it._

 _-o-o-_

I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing my homework Hannah and Susan had brought me from bed. I read the note again.

 _I know your secret. I know, and you will pay for it._

This dwelled in my head as Madam Pomfrey resignedly deemed me good enough to be removed from the hospital wing.

"Just take this two times a day, one dose in the evening and one in the morning for a week," she said, pressing a bottle into my hands. "And do be careful, dear."

I gathered everything from my bedside table (leftover chocolates, cards, and, _shudder,_ the note) and left for the common room.

When in my dormitory, I dumped everything on the side of my bed and barely greeted my roommates when they addressed me.

 _Why me? What did I do? Who are they? Why, why why?_

These questions looped through my head like a broken record. I mean, obviously, we were different from everyone else, but why? Was there any harm in coming here?

Reaching a decision, I grabbed the note and left the dorm, much to Hannah and Susan's questions and protests.

"Excuse me," I said to the first person I ran into. "Do you know the way to Professor Dumbledore's office?"

They pointed me there and I headed in that direction, never stopping once until I was directly in front of the stone gargoyles.

"Lemon drops," I said determinedly. They leapt aside.

I ascended the twisting staircase and found myself in Dumbledore's office. I suddenly felt myself regretting my decision.

"Good afternoon, Miss Ostler," he said politely, looking at me over his half-moon spectacles, his hands tented on his desk. "Well rested, I hope?"

"Y — yes, Professor."

"Glad to hear it. Now, what do I owe for this pleasant surprise?"

"This, Professor."

I handed him the note, my hand shaking.

"It was on my bedside table in the hospital wing with all the other cards."

He opened, his brow furrowing as he read it over.

"Do you have any idea who might have sent this to you?"

I shook my head.

"And may I ask about this secret they are referring to?"

I hesitated.

"Um… May — may I get my sister?" I asked. "The thing is — we're kind of — I need to talk with her first."

"Of course." He nodded and I slipped out as calmly as I could, breaking into a run as soon as I was out.

I tapped the shoulder of the first blue-tied person I ran into.

"Excuse me," I asked, "do you happen to know where Willow Ostler is?"

I must have looked a mess, face flushed, robes wrinkled, disheveled hair, but they pointed me in the direction, albeit looking a little scared.

I arrived at the Ravenclaw Tower and knocked with the eagle knocker.

"Why do Mandrakes cry?"

"I don't very well know," I said irritably. "Can I just _go in_ , please?"

"Why do Mandrakes cry?"

"Okay, look, I just recovered from poisoning and, apparently, am going to be murdered sometime in the near future. So, I'd really appreciate it if you _let me in_!"

The door opened.

"Vi?"

As I rushed in, several surprised faces turned towards me, and among them, Wil.

"Could I borrow you for a moment?" I asked with as much dignity as I could muster, what with my wild appearance and annoyance from the door.

"Yeah, sure thing."

She walked over and we exited the common room. I started walking back to Dumbledore's office.

"Vi?" asked Wil, jogging to catch up with me. "What's going on?"

So I told her everything, from the note to the talk with Dumbledore. "Do you think we should tell him?" I asked after I had finished. "I mean, he probably suspects something anyway, he knows everything that's going on around here., and we need his help for most of everything that we're planning to do."

"Yeah," said Wil, "and plus he can help us figure out who sent the note."

I nodded just as we arrived at the entrance. "Lemon drop," I said, and they parted to make way for us.

"Ah," said the professor once he saw us arrive. He still clutched the note in his hands. "Have you reached a decision?"

"Yes, professor," said Wil, stepping up. She looked back at me. "We'll tell you."

 **Aaaaand there you go! Sorry it's a little late. What do you think? Reviews make my day!**


	17. Revealed

**Here's Chapter Seventeen! R &R and enjoy! By the way, a sisterly moment coming up in this chapter. You have been warned! **

**Lillylarlar: I'm glad you like it! I'll try to make the chapters longer. :) Also, do the previously's make it too long? And thank you for pointing that out… I'll be sure to fix it! There will definitely be more of Hermione, and a lot of Daphne in Living the Harry Potter Dream by JBrocks917, ONCE SHE GETS HER CHAPTERS OUT. I will introduce her in this story, though. And, um, maybe you're right about the lack of communication… My sister's been saying it the whole time hehe. I'll try to make them communicate more.**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

" _You were poisoned…"_

 _-o-o-_

 _I know your secret, [read the note]. I know, and you will pay for it._

 _-o-o-_

 _I… found myself in Dumbledore's office._

 _-o-o-_

 _I handed him the note…_

" _And may I ask about this secret they are referring to?"_

 _-o-o-_

" _We'll tell you."_

 _-o-o-_

Wil and I awaited anxiously as Professor Dumbledore paced his office, stroking his beard.

"Forgive me if I misunderstand — you have come to this world from the future as Muggles, suddenly gaining magical abilities and enrolling in Hogwarts?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And you have come with a message to save this world?"

"Yes, Professor."

"And you have now been poisoned…" He thought for a minute before clapping his hands. "We must put protection on Ravenclaw Tower. The attacker may come for you next." He nodded at Wil.

"Wait," I said, following him as he strode over to his desk. "So you believe us?"

He looked up (down?) at me from where he was grabbing his wand. "I don't see a reason not to."

* * *

An hour later, Professor Dumbledore had asked Professor Flitwick to help put protectional spells on Ravenclaw Tower (without telling him the reason, thank goodness).

"The protections have been cast," he said, lowering his wand and turning to us. "You are free to go."

Wil took off, to where, I don't know, while I jogged to catch up with the Professor as he headed back to his office.

"Professor," I said, and he turned around, stopping.

"Yes?"

"There's just one more thing I want to show you." I rolled up my sleeves to reveal the pinprick. He inspected it for a moment before saying, "Thank you for showing me this. You have given me much to ponder." And he walked away without another word.

* * *

A bit later, I arrived in the Hufflepuff common room. Heading straight to my dorm, I ignored the many worried glances and as soon as I walked in, I heard a loud uproar before I was bowled to the floor.

"Vi!" squealed Susan. She had, apparently, knocked me to the floor with a hug. "We were so worried about you!"

"Yeah," said Hannah, who was standing off to the side. "What even happened anyway? Some people said that they saw you with your sister and Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore up at the Ravenclaw Tower casting some sort of spell on it and —"

"Calm down, Hannah," I said, getting up and sitting on my bed. Mocha hopped onto my lap. "I'll tell you everything."

And so I did, from the moment they left the hospital wing to the charming of the tower.

"Wow," said Susan after I had finished. "And you have no idea why they sent you the note?"

I hesitated. "Nope, no idea."

"Aw, that's too bad," said Hannah. "It's really strange. If you did nothing, then why would they target you?"

"Maybe we could look at the note," suggested Susan. "There might be a clue as to who sent it."

"Sure."

I felt around in my pockets. There was nothing there.

"Oh," I said, frowning."Dumbledore must have kept it."

* * *

A bit later, while Hannah and Susan were finishing up their homework ("It's your fault, really, we were too worried about you to focus on anything else,"), I wandered off to the library.

It was fairly deserted, as no one wanted to visit the library on a Sunday afternoon.

I had just picked up a good book on palm reading ( _A Handy Guide for Anyone Needing a Hand in Reading the Hand_ ) and sat down with it when someone plopped down in the seat next to me.

"Hey," said Wil.

"Hi," I replied.

"What'cha readin'?"

"Nothing much. Just a little something on palm reading."

"Are you planning to take Divination? Everyone knows that's the stupid subject."

"Hey, it's interesting! Plus, until we reveal our secret, I'm the only one who'll be able to warn Harry about stuff, so there."

She suddenly went silent. I looked up at her.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly.

"Nothing," she said. "It's kind of stupid."

"What? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know, it's just —" She sighed. "I'm a bit homesick, that's all. I know we've got all this magic and stuff, and Daphne's awesome, and everyone is amazing and magic is too, but I can't help thinking — when's the next time we're going to see our family? Mom, dad? Our friends at home? It's all gone, and I don't know if we'll ever see them again."

I fell silent. Who knew she was feeling like this? So in that moment, I did the only thing that seemed sensible.

I hugged her.

When I let go, I said, "We'll see them again. I know we will."

She gulped, seemed to steel herself, and then nodded. But then she tensed.

"Vi," she whispered. "Look."

And look I did.

In the shadows, somewhere I knew nobody went because of the smell of old books and dust, were two people. They were staring straight at us, their shining eyes the only part of their face lit up in the small sliver of light that fell upon them.

But most horrifying of all was a long, sharp syringe held in one of their hands. Some sort of yellow, grossly bubbling liquid was in it.

I suddenly felt a searing pain upon my arm. I rolled up my sleeve and saw that my prick had turned red.

Syringe, prick.

Syringe, prick.

Syringe, prick.

And the realization hit me like a bolt of lightning.

"Wil," I hissed, "I think those are the people who poisoned me!"

She clenched her fists and made a move to get up, but I held her down.

"No," I said, "They might get you too."

Then a curtain of light fell upon them for a brief second and what I saw would leave me shaken.

One, on the right, was a girl. She had familiar bushy brown hair and eyes that were different from how I remembered them, full of something that almost looked like disappointment.

The second, who stood to the left of the girl, was tall and lanky with bright red hair, blue eyes burning with hatred.

Then the moment passed and by the time the light fell again they were gone.

 **And there we go! It's getting exciting! Please leave your thoughts!**


	18. Trust No One

**Chapter Eighteen, we're nearing the twenty chapter mark! R &R and enjoy! **

_Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

" _You were poisoned…"_

 _-o-o-_

 _There was a tiny yet discernible little pinprick on [my arm]._

 _-o-o-_

 _I know your secret, [read the note]. I know, and you will pay for it._

 _-o-o-_

 _I… found myself in Dumbledore's office._

 _-o-o-_

 _I handed him the note…_

" _And may I ask about this secret they are referring to?"_

 _-o-o-_

" _We'll tell you."_

 _-o-o-_

 _In the shadows… were two people._

… _a... syringe held in one of their hands. Some sort of yellow, grossly bubbling liquid was in it..._

" _Wil," I hissed, "I think those are the people who poisoned me!"_

… _One, on the right, was a girl. She had familiar bushy brown hair and eyes that were different from how I remembered them, full of something that almost looked like disappointment._

 _The second, who stood to the left of the girl, was tall and lanky with bright red hair, blue eyes burning with hatred._

 _-o-o-_

 **Um, so a bit of a strange previously, but whatever! On with the story!**

Wil and I were running as fast as we could towards Gryffindor Tower.

 _Oh my God oh my God oh my God. Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione!_

We didn't stop until we were a few yards away from the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Okay," I said. "Okay, we have to compose ourselves. We can't just go bursting in there."

Wil nodded. "Right, so, um… We'll just be bored and decide to want to see them?"

"Right," I replied, taking a huge breath. "Right."

And we walked casually up to the Fat Lady.

"Afternoon," I said. "Do Ron and Hermione happen to be in here? We're kind of bored and were wondering if they were busy."

I glanced back for a second and saw Wil shoot me a thumbs-up.

"Why, yes, of course," she said, and then swung open. "Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger! You have two people looking for you."

We peeked in and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione playing Exploding Snap at a table.

I mentally groaned. _Not Harry, not now._

"Hey!" said Wil brightly. Anyone who knew her as well as I did (which, admittedly, was not a large amount of people) also knew that Wil was _never_ this bubbly. _Never._ "We were wondering if you'd join us for a few games."

They looked surprised but got up to join us.

"Where are we going?" asked Ron as we walked down the halls.

"Ravenclaw Tower," said Wil. "They're not _too_ strict about who they allow in there."

"What are we playing? I brought my Exploding Snap pack and Wizarding Chess set just in case."

"We can play those," I said. "And wait! You go on without me. Be right back."

I dashed off towards the basement and came back with my favorite set of checkers.

"You brought your checkers set with you?" said Wil, her eyes wide.

"Well, _yeah_ ," I said. "I couldn't just leave it behind!"

She rolled her eyes.

We played the Exploding Snap first. I was _not_ the best at it, mostly because I don't have very fast reflexes.

Then we played Wizarding Chess, which I was also bad at, having no previous experience with the game.

"Okay," I announced after my third round of being beat of spectacularly by Ron. "Let's play some checkers now, I'm tired of losing."

And so we started to play some checkers, which I was _really_ good at. I beat Ron successively five times in a row.

"Ha!" I cried out in triumph after his last attempt to beat me. "Take that!"

During me second round of playing with Hermione (who was actually pretty good at the game once she knew the rules, seeming as it was strategy), I asked casually, "So, what have you guys been doing this weekend?"

"Nothing much," she replied, leaning closer to the board to assess her moves. "We had a lot of homework."

"Oh, did Professor Snape give you loads? Anything _hands-on_?"

Ron frowned. "Nope," he said. "Professor Snape's too mean for that."

"Yeah," I agreed vaguely.

So there was absolutely no other reason that they would have the potion.

 _Maybe they confiscated it?_ said a desperate voice in the back of my head.

 _And didn't tell you?_ said another. _You're grasping at straws here. Face it, they did it._

My lack of attention allowed Hermione to make a triple jump, winning the game.

However, my mind was elsewhere as we packed up our things, and I even managed to ignore Ron's triumphant looks, happy that someone had avenged him.

As I entered the common room, everything seemed wrong.

The sun was too bright. The chairs were too hard. The plants were too leafy. The smiles were too happy. The quilts were too scratchy. My friends were too nosy. The mattress was too bumpy.

Nothing was right.

* * *

Three days later, mostly everything was back to normal. I was still wary of Ron and Hermione, though, and Madam Pomfrey insisted on regular visits to the hospital wing. Hannah and Susan also refused to let me go anywhere without one of them. I spent my free time (however little it was) reading up on defensive spells.

On the morning of Halloween, we saw as we went to breakfast that all of the treats were themed appropriately.

"Happy Halloween!" I greeted as a I spread a "wart" of butter on my bat-shaped pancake.

"Happy Halloween!" said Ernie Macmillan, who was sitting across from me.

"Happy Halloween!" echoed Justin Finch-Fletchley. "What does Hogwarts do for Halloween?"

"There's a feast," said Susan, "and decorations."

"That's it?" He frowned.

"They should have a costume party," I said. "Muggles always dress up for Halloween. It'd be a lot of fun."

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. We sat down for the feast after Herbology, chattering happily.

I was just debating to Susan whether Pumpkin Pasties or Chocolate Frogs were better when suddenly Professor Quirrell came bursting into the hall dramatically, panting breathlessly and sliding to the floor.

"Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know." He fainted.

I just had time to think "Good act" when a large panic took over the students. Professor Dumbledore fired a few bursts of sparks to get our attention and said, "Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

I joined the line of first-year Hufflepuffs filing out of the hall. "This way!" I heard a prefect calling. "Stay calm! Keep in line! Everything will be fine!"

"How do you think a troll got in?" whispered Hannah.

"Someone must have let it in," I said. "Trolls are too stupid to get in on their own. Plus, someone would have spotted it. They're not that easy to miss."

"Then who?" asked Susan frightfully.

"It could be anyone," I said carefully, trying my best not to lie.

"I think it's Professor Snape," said Susan. "He seems shifty."

"Come on, Susan, we're Hufflepuffs," I said. I didn't want Snape getting accused for Professor Quirrell's actions, however bitter he may be. "Assuming goes against everything we stand for!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said. "If we can't trust our schoolmates, who _can_ we trust?"

 _No one,_ I thought to myself. _I can trust no one._


	19. Into the Past

**Hello, everyone! Welcome to Chapter Nineteen! We're** _ **so close**_ **to twenty chapters I cannot believe it! And yes, I know, I know, it seems like I abandoned this story.** _ **Again.**_ **I'm really sorry! I got stuck and was like, "Argggggh, I have no idea what to put in this chapter!" So if any of this writing seems awkward, I apologize. Anyway, enjoy (you know, finally)!**

 _Previously on "Into the Pages"..._

 _-o-o-_

 _Victoria and Willow Ostler — yes, we know who you are. You have been chosen to save us and save our world from its impending doom. Now, you don't have much time. This portal will only stay open for sixty minutes, never to open again. Please, save us. You are our only hope._

 _-H_

 _-o-o-_

" _You were poisoned…"_

 _-o-o-_

 _There was a tiny yet discernible little pinprick on [my arm]._

 _-o-o-_

 _I know your secret, [read the note]. I know, and you will pay for it._

 _-o-o-_

 _I… found myself in Dumbledore's office._

 _-o-o-_

 _I handed him the note…_

 _-o-o-_

" _We'll tell you."_

 _-o-o-_

 _In the shadows… were two people._

 _..."I think those are the people who poisoned me!"_

… _One, on the right, was a girl. She had familiar bushy brown hair and eyes that were different from how I remembered them, full of something that almost looked like disappointment._

 _The second, who stood to the left of the girl, was tall and lanky with bright red hair, blue eyes burning with hatred._

 _-o-o-_

" _Happy Halloween!" I greeted…_

 _-o-o-_

" _Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."_

 _-o-o-_

The day after Halloween, I decided to go to Dumbledore's office to talk.

"Wiiil," I sang as I approached the Ravenclaw table after breakfast. "Come on, we're going to see Professor Dumbledore about our… problem."

She nodded, understanding, and off we went.

"So, you believe your poisoners are Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow. Once we arrived, we had told him about our suspicions of Ron and Hermione. However, this eyebrow was not a doubting one. More of a considering one.

We both nodded.

"Come over here. There's something I want to show you."

I tilted my head slightly at Wil and raised an eyebrow at Wil. She just shrugged. We followed him to a small cabinet. He reached into it and pulled something out — a round basin swirling with something silvery.

"I assume you know of this?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. The Pensieve." said Wil.

"So you know its purpose?"

"Yes, sir." she repeated.

"Good. If you'll allow me…" He held up his wand with a questioning look at both of us.

"Oh — um — yes, of course," I said, stepping forward and shifting slightly. I didn't know if I was entirely comfortable with my headmaster searching through my memories, them being my most precious possession, but I couldn't exactly say no, could I?

He pressed his wand to my temple, and I closed my eyes, trying hard to only think of that moment when I spotted Ron and Hermione in the library.

When I opened them again, attached to Dumbledore's wand was a thin, silvery wisp of memory, _my_ memory. I stared at it, almost trancelike. Memories were just so _fascinating_.

He brought it over to the Pensieve and dropped it in. We both came over to stand next to him, he took our hands, and we plunged into the memory.

It was strange, seeing myself from a third-person point of view. There I was, sitting with Wil in the library, and when I looked over, there were Ron and Hermione.

Wil and I ran over to them, Dumbledore following at a slower pace.

It sure looked like my two friends, but… _older._

Hermione's figure was curvier, and her frazzled hair lay more straight than usual. Ron had hints of facial hair, and he held himself with a bit more confidence than the Ron I knew. Both had a look in their eyes, a look that said they had been through more than they should have, more than they wanted to.

"It does look like Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger," said Dumbledore, inspecting them carefully over his crescent-moon spectacles. "I wonder… Aha!" He pointed to a small golden chain dangling from Hermione's neck. It had a small something attached to it.

A Time Turner.

"Well, I think we've found out all we need to know," said Dumbledore, grasping us both firmly by the arms. An an instant, we were back in his office.

"Sometime in the future, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger will attempt to kill you."

 **And there we go! Sorry it's really short, I'll try to make the chapters longer from here on out. Thanks for waiting!**


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